


An Artist and His Muse

by NEDtheNerd



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Love Letter to Art, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Shukita - Freeform, but is it?, spoiler free
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-05 01:23:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11567379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NEDtheNerd/pseuds/NEDtheNerd
Summary: Being a Phantom Thief, Yusuke has not been sketching as much as he would like. So after a trip from Mementos, he finds the perfect time as well as the perfect inspiration for his next sketch.





	An Artist and His Muse

There was something special about this moment. Something he wanted to capture, to hang onto forever as he saw it. It made no difference how exhausted he was. He needed to sketch before this moment was lost in time forever. 

That is in essence the fulfillment being an artist gives. Being able to express thoughts and pictures once seen only inside one’s mind to the people of the world is an extraordinary ability and gives an unexplainable joy to be able to express such emotion and share it with the world. 

What is so special, too, is that all artists see the same subject differently. This makes artwork all the more important. It enables the world to see through your eyes and take new perspective and hopefully appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of a given situation that at one point was only visible to you and only you. Artwork opens up people’s minds and helps them see the world differently. 

And Yusuke loved it. 

Joining the Phantom Thieves was no mistake. It did limit his time for expressing his ideas through art, however Yusuke was honored to be able to liberate the world from cruel oppression through the way of the heart. He wanted to make sure no one would be lied to just as Madarame lied to him. He actually began to feel this thievery was an art in itself. 

All in all, he had no regrets about becoming a Phantom Thief.

Although it did not really leave him with much free time. 

Today after Ann, Ryuji, and Akira were out of their classes, it was decided they would take care of a few requests that their friend Mishima found in Mementos. But as time has been going on, and as they have been becoming stronger, they have been staying in Mementos for longer and longer each visit, and they have been going there more and more, leaving less and less time for Yusuke to sketch as much as he used to. 

So when the group decided to hang out after their trip to Mementos and inevitably fell asleep, Yusuke had some precious time to himself, and he was going to take advantage of it. Being him, he brought a sketchbook and assortment of pencils and pens everywhere he went. So this moment was perfect. 

All he had to do was decide  _ what _ to sketch.

He had already tried to recreate each Persona he has come across. Goemon was simple to capture. He remembers what Goemon looks like perfectly, after all, he is his own Persona. Everyone else’s Persona though, that was a different story. One he really wanted to capture was Arsene with his wings of ink and eyes of fire. But for some reason, Yusuke’s memory never did it justice. 

If only he could sketch in Mementos. 

Maybe having Akira in front of him could help him capture the essence of Arsene. After all, Arsene is a manifestation of Akira’s inner self. Luckily Akira was directly across from where Yusuke was sitting. 

When Yusuke looked up from the blank page in his sketchbook to where Akira was, it hit him. 

It felt like a spark, a flame. It burned within Yusuke’s soul and only pushed him to put a pencil down to the paper and draw all he saw. That was the feeling of unfightable inspiration. It was that pulsing desire to capture, to create, to lock in this setup before him before it is lost forever. 

Forget trying to draw Arsene. He wanted to capture Akira. 

Something about it was just perfect. The way he was sprawled across the sofa. He lay on his side, right forearm supporting his head as he slumbered. His face was soft and Morgana curled into his stomach. It created this undisturbed peace and the way his glasses clung to his face illustrated the abruptness of the exhaustion, perfect to fill the waiting page. 

There was just something there. 

Yusuke decided to start with his 4H pencil, just to get a rough base for the piece. He put the pencil down to paper and...

Everything began to fade. Ryuji and Ann were no longer there dozing in the same room. The sounds of hard pencil scratching against clean paper threw Yusuke into a different world, a dimension all of his own. All sounds vanished and the presences of Ann and Ryuji and the surroundings in the chamber drifted away as if they were not even there at all. All there was was Yusuke, his pencils, and his muse.

Just him and Akira.

His hand moved feverishly, only trying to establish the basic idea of the space. Yusuke saw Akira transform into basic geometric shapes; circles, trapezoids and ovals. In no time they took the form of more three-dimensional shapes to create the basic suggestion of a body. 

The sketch had no feeling, no character, no distinguishing characteristics. 

Instantly he began to define all of the more precise details. The eyes that rested in the middle of his head. His nose that lay between here and his chin and his soft lips that split the space beneath his nose. Light lines guided the way in which his hair would be draping over his face.

Soon the vague shapes gave way to light and shadow. Everything became black and white, no shades in between. Yusuke found where the darkest parts of the image were and softly outlined where they would go. Then where the dark would be, he used light diagonal hatches to indicate the shaded from the light, further guiding him in his artwork _. _

He looked down, then up, then down again. He analyzed each part, looking to see if everything was going smoothly. Satisfied, he fished for a softer pencil, preparing to fill in the darker lines and finalize the shading. 

Placing the pencil down to where the figure’s face met the outlined arm, Yusuke looked at Akira. It was the only moment he stopped and thought, really thought. 

_ Akira. _

There was something so perfect, flawless, beautiful. The softness of his hair. The purity of his face. The majesty of his eyelashes. The docility of his innocent lips. The way the light was even placed on his face was unbelievably exact. His glasses only made his face all the more impeccant. 

Without thought the pencil once again began skidding across the page, roughly capturing each value. The longer lines were given broad, violent strokes, absorbing the urgency of unknown time. Yet with smaller details, the accents were small and delicate, confirming the precision. 

The face led into the darkness and looseness of the raven hair. The arm was given its definition as was then his chest. A few vague lines indicated the surrounding couch. Each line faded into another as the drawing became one cohesive piece. 

That was it. A page of white broken by abrupt streaks of grey, somehow morphing together to suggest a human face, Akira’s face. The subject at rest and unassuming of the distant admirer. 

For minutes Yusuke looked down at what he did. At first to look for any made mistakes or any missteps. But after a few minor alterations, he found himself just, admiring it. 

Not admiring his work. But admiring his muse. 

There was something so warming, so exuberating in looking at him. This tortured soul, yet kind and true, and resilient to say the least. There was also something humbling, observing someone encompassed in such vulnerability. Without even thinking, he took his graphite-covered hand and lightly brushed over the grey dusting that illustrated Akira’s face. Yusuke grew entranced, following the curve of Akira’s sleeping face.  

_ Akira… _

He paused his motion across the piece. The warmth turned into this tug, this longing within his chest. It was no depression, but a desire, or a wish. It was a wish that this drawing was something more. He wanted to be able to feel the tepid softness that seemed to drip from the figure’s visage. 

Yusuke looked up at Akira. 

It did not have to be a dream. It did not have to stay a drawing. Maybe he could understand through direct touch, not just through the eyes of an artist. 

Akira was right there. He always had been. 

Yusuke stopped.

What was he thinking? Could Yusuke really ask Akira for something Yusuke was sure he would not give to him? It was a ridiculous notion. But that did not stop himself from imagining that touch. 

He noticed Akira shift in his sleep and Yusuke separated from his thoughts. He watched as Akira snuggled further into his arm, causing his glasses to shift further off of his face, unbeknownst to him. 

It would be a shame if they fell off. 

So as softly as possible, Yusuke stood up from the seat, closing then placing his sketchbook and pencils upon his former placement and quietly trotted to place himself before the sleeping muse. He knelt down right before his face, looking at Akira with his own grey eyes. He raised both his hands to reach for the sides of the frames as if to remove them. 

Slowly and delicately, he removed them from Akira’s face. 

And Akira stayed in his slumber, completely unaware. 

Yusuke fell into that trance again. His face was so pure. He is so close. His inspiration, right there within arms reach. The breathing work of art, right there for him to embrace. 

That longing came back again. 

As stealthily as possible, Yusuke placed his glasses on the table beside the sofa, and returned to his kneel. Without thought he raised his hands again. No, they were being pulled towards Akira. With delicate motion each hand opened up to the sides of his porcelain face just anticipating to feel the radiating purity deep within his palms and fulfil this growing void.

Right before contact, he stopped. His hands hovered right around Akira’s face. 

Yusuke smiled to himself.

With an exhale he pulled his hands back, leaving Akira undisturbed. 

_ Not now,  _ the artist thought to himself.  _ Time and place… _

Yusuke picked himself up and started walking back to where he sat before. Lifting his sketchbook, he saw Ann stir from her nap. From the corner of his eye, he watched her arms reach behind her head and her legs stretch forward. 

“Hey Yusuke,” Ann said with a yawn in her throat. “What happened?”

Yusuke simply placed himself back into his seat. “Nothing at all. I have just been keeping myself busy.”

Yusuke heard a voice in front of him speak.

“I’m sorry Yusuke, did we all fall asleep on you?” Akira was slowly coming out of his own sleep and addressed the artist. He rubbed the corners of his eyes before looking at Yusuke. 

Although clouded in exhaustion, Akira’s smokey eyes managed to make Yusuke warm up inside yet again. He could not help but softly smile to himself in looking at his black-haired friend. 

“Have no worries,” Yusuke responded. “Your absences provided me with a substantial amount of time to myself, to accomplish a few things I have wanted to for a long time now.” 

Morgana’s head peeked up from his curled position. “Oh! Did you get to do some drawing?”

“You better not have been drawing me while I was sleeping!” Ann whined angrily. 

“Hey, what’s with all the yellin’?” Ryuji finally chimed in.

“Can we see what you did?” Morgana added.

“Well,” Yusuke started. He placed his hand on the sketchbook and looked down at it, contemplatively. He thought for a moment. “Maybe some other time, when the time is right.” 

“Awww man. Always so vague,” Ryuji groaned. 

“Well at least he does something useful with his time,” Morgana snarkily commented. 

“Quiet you stupid cat!”

“I’m NOT a cat!”

And so the moment was gone. That tranquility, that peacefulness, will never occur like that ever again. That time has passed. 

But Yusuke will have it with him always. 

“I can’t wait to see it, Yusuke.”

Yusuke looked up to see the boy putting his glasses back on, not realizing they were removed from his face in the first place. Afterwards the two locked eyes for a moment and Akira continued. “Your work always amazes me.”

Yusuke appreciatively nodded in response. 

“Endless thank-yous to you. You could never understand how much that means to me.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading my one-shot!
> 
> Woke up early one morning and had this idea for a writing. I am in LOVE with Persona 5 (even though I have not beaten it yet), and I am even more in love with Yusuke! Of course, me being me, I totally ship the Protagonist and Yusuke, which I believe is called Shukita. However, I never intended this work to come out so "One-sided." But I have to say, I love it when characters admire from a distance (And who says Akira/Protagonist does not feel the same way?). This also became my own love letter to art, being an artist myself. So I tried to recreate how it feels when I sketch. In short, it was a fun writing.


End file.
